Ben had no choice but to rest & meditate. He could not activate his powers for some time as it would strain the meridians. It has only been a few months since he became a knight & the meridians were not that strong. As per the knowledge Ben had, it would take at least a year for all the meridians to be properly strengthened. It is especially true for the secondary & penetrated meridians. Mahaansh brought some materials for Ben to read. These were structured materials that were recorded by Mahaansh in an orderly manner.
Without anything else to do, Ben started to read it.
'Cultivation Techniques'
That was the title of the document. So Ben started… It read as follows:
'Aura is naturally produced & absorbed from food, medicines & from the environment. Using some breathing techniques & visualizations it can be naturally absorbed, circulated & released. This is true at the beginning stage of the Knight Realm. But beyond a certain level, especially when meridian penetration rate is above 90%, the effect of this becomes less and aura flow will be affected. This can lead to reduced absorption rate & even deviation in aura flow. This is because, the path way of aura has become more complicated and the tissues and organs that it goes through and reinforces have also become more diverse and complex.
This is where a dedicated cultivation technique comes into play. These techniques will help in regulating the aura flow & transporting it to the right parts of the body. As the aura is transported to the right parts, the meridians will penetrate there more and will become stronger. This will help in the penetration of meridians to the right parts of the body of a person. Thus those parts of the body that are effectively utilized by the meridian seeds will be strengthened more than others.
Cultivation techniques involve breathing techniques, visualizations & more importantly, control over the flow of aura through meridians & energy core.
There are many methods for this & mostly a technique that is closely compatible with a meridian seed will be there. One only needs to make some adjustments & make it unique to oneself. Once you get the technique right, then a phenomenon called resonance will happen with the meridians, energy core & yourself. This happens when aura starts to flow through the body seamlessly - giving your body a newfound vigor. While this may seem simple, it is very important. When you start to sense your aura in your body closely, you will see that its flow is not so smooth. This is what happens with lack of resonance. For beast masters & weapon wielders, one has to look for resonance between one's beast or weapon & oneself. In case of beast masters the cultivation technique needs to compatible with the beast as well. If not, the beast will not have the right growth of its meridians. For weapon masters, their weapon core must be nourished with the right materials to even create the right cultivation technique. Though they have it easier than beast masters.
People with Yogic powers and Shamanic powers have it relatively easier to create a cultivation technique. They resonate with their body and life aura more respectively.
The next level is called harmony. This happens when the body 'harmonizes' with the flow of aura. As mentioned earlier, aura flows through diverse organs, tissues, glands etc. Harmony happens when the aura flows in harmony or in accordance with the functioning of these organs. The function of heart is not the same as lungs, which is not the same as brain. Through all these organs aura will flow in a way that is in accordance with the function of that organ or tissue or gland. That is when harmony happens.
The next level is singularity. It is the circumstance where the aura flow is in resonance and harmony with every cell of your body. That is a more complex concept, which you will get access to in the higher realms.
The sooner one has a cultivation technique, the better it is. But without one, one may reach the Noble rank, but it will not go beyond that. It will also cause problems for the meridians in the long run. These problems will prevent one from rising up in martial rank.
Another problem is the usage of pills for power. Medicines will be fine to a certain extent, but when it comes to pills for increasing quality or quantity of aura & cultivation technique, is a must. Without that the medicinal properties will not be absorbed. The same goes with medicines that are used for healing meridians. They also will loose its efficiency without a proper cultivation technique.
The first and important step in creating a cultivation technique is to sense the flow of aura in your body. Without this, the next part cannot be even started. The sensing should extend to even the penetrated meridians. One should get a clear picture of how the body is absorbing and settling the aura within the body and how it flows and interacts with the organs and tissues.
The next step is finding reference for your cultivation technique. You can use any archives and find a technique that is suitable for you, which is close to the way in which your aura flows and interacts. But that should only act as a reference. It should in no way be adapted as one's cultivation technique.
By using the reference technique and the information about aura flow in your body, one needs to create a technique which consist of a breathing technique, visualization method and any auxiliary method that will help in the cultivation. Once such a technique is created, one should practice it till resonance is reached. Once the degree of resonance has been attained, then the cultivation technique will automatically run. It will automatically activate when you eat or when you are exposed to energies that can be absorbed.
The only time you have to voluntarily activate it will be when you are injured or when you are absorbing a high quality pill.
Another important matter is the constant upgradation of the cultivation technique. As one ascends a martial rank, there will be many changes in one's body. The cultivation technique will need to be adjusted every time, so that it can keep up with the change. At the lower levels the technique need to achieve only 'Resonance' and 'Harmony'. But at the higher levels, 'Singularity' becomes important.
These 3 stages are important because, it helps in the seamless flow and constant reinforcement of the body. If they are not achieved, meridian path ways may become skewed, aura flow may become stagnated, under or over reinforcements of body parts may occur.'